EMBER

FREDA

After walking around for hours and skittering whenever a vampire steward passed me and stared with intense crimson eyes, I found myself on a balcony. I had summoned up the courage to ask one of the stewards and surprisingly he didn't stare at me as if he wanted to have me for dinner. He just gave me directions, and that's how I found myself here, enjoying the cool night breeze.
I took in a greedy breath of fresh air as I watched the full moon shining above. My thoughts went back to the meeting and I breathed out a sigh of exhaustion. Nothing about peace talks and how to avoid the war was being discussed; instead, the vampire king was merely making small talk, taunting the werewolves and trying to force their hand.
What bothered me even more was the fact that he still hadn't explained why he asked for the daughters of the alphas to come to the meeting. It had been on my mind for a while now and for good reason too because I had the faint sense that we were in danger. I didn't know why I had that feeling, but you could call it instincts or gut feeling or whatever.
Just as I was getting lost in the reverie of my thoughts, a voice from behind me startled me.
“Beautiful night, isn't it?”
I spun around to see a woman walking towards me with a friendly smile. She had long, wavy red hair, blue eyes that seemed to glow in the night, and a face that still had some traces of baby fat. She had a jagged scar that ran diagonally across her cheek, which added a touch of ruggedness to her baby face.
She did have the sort of face you'd expect in a child, but the way she carried herself, it felt as if she had seen a lot in life despite her young-looking appearance. I might be wrong and she might just be a young girl, but looks could be deceiving. I instinctively took a step back, wary of her presence.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just came out for some fresh air; the tension in the meeting hall was too suffocating.” She apologized as she joined me on the railing. “I couldn't help but notice your distress during the meeting too.”
It all clicked together now. She was one of the alphas' daughters, and she was the one who had initially left the meeting. It seemed I wasn't the only one who had felt uncomfortable.
“It was...a very unsettling experience,” I stammered, trying to find the right words. Although she seemed nice, I wasn't sure how she would treat me, especially since I've been ostracized all my life for being half-human. So it was best to choose my words carefully.
“Unsettling? That's a mild way to put it. King Draken is a master manipulator, wouldn't you agree?” The girl flashed me a wry smile. I was confused. I was sure she had already noticed that I was half-human, yet she was still trying to engage me in conversation. I thought about staying silent but ditched that thought as it wouldn't do any good. Plus, I was bored, so talking to her shouldn't be so bad...ish.
“He's...intimidating,” I admitted with a small nod.
“Intimidating is a gentle word to describe Draken. He is a monster that plays with his prey before he finally devours it,” the woman said with a serious tone as she fixed her gaze on the moonlit horizon. “That sinister bloodsucker did not call for a peace meeting; he wants to show off his dominance. If you ask me, I think war is imminent unless some sort of miracle happens.”
I felt a shiver run through my spine when I heard the girl voicing my exact thoughts. I decided that it was alright to continue engaging in conversation with her.

“What about us daughters of the alphas? Do you have any idea why he would specifically ask for our presence?” I asked, voicing the thought that had been gnawing at me since I entered this damned castle.
“I...don't know. But I can tell you this: whatever he has planned for you guys, it's certainly nothing good. You have to be vigilant,” the woman responded.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. What did she mean by ‘you guys’? If anything were to happen, she would definitely be affected too. She was the daughter of an alpha too, wasn't she?
“You seem a bit different. Are you a half-blood?” the woman asked as she observed me with furrowed eyebrows. I stared at her with a guarded look and decided to keep silent.
“It's alright. You can trust me. I am strictly against the ostracism of half-bloods. I even made sure they felt accepted in my pack.” The woman chuckled lightly. I couldn't sense a hint of hostility in her laughter, and it made me relax a little.
“I'm sorry for being rude, but who are you?” I took a deep breath and asked the question that had been gnawing at my mind ever since we started talking.
“My name is Ember, and no, I'm not an alpha's daughter.” Ember introduced herself. I cocked my head to the side in confusion, wondering what her status was and what she was doing here if she wasn't the daughter of an alpha.
“What do you mean?” I questioned her as my mind raced.
The woman straightened her posture, and suddenly I could feel it. The same aura that surrounded my father. The aura that all the other alphas in the meeting room had—the aura of alphas.
“Don't tell me you're...” my voice trailed off as my jaw dropped in shock.
“Yes. My name is Ember. I am the alpha of the Frost Fang pack,” Ember declared with a proud lift of her chin.
My mind was in a mess as it tried to connect the young looking woman with the image of an alpha and as you would expect, it wasn't adding up at all.
“An Alpha? But you look so…young.” I finally managed to say after staring at her with a blank expression.
Ember pursed her lips and she was about to speak when she suddenly paused, an alert expression on her face. She turned around to stared at the door that she used to enter the balcony before she grabbed my hand.
“Let's go. Something's happening in the meeting room.” She said with urgency as she walked briskly. I was suddenly worried and i prayed silently to whatever celestial being that cared to listen to make every alright.